by Paige Toon
‘What? Why not? Won’t you be at school?’
‘Not this week, apparently. I don’t know when I’ll be allowed to come back. When this all dies down, I guess.’
I feel like a caged animal that week. I stay inside because, despite what Johnny said about it being illegal to print photos of people taken on their own private property, I hate the thought of the press spying on me. Stu has to return to work and the bodyguards stay out of my way, so I feel very alone.
I speak to Tom every day before and after school, and I’m pleasantly surprised when Libby calls me every evening. Apparently I’m all anyone is talking about. I feel bad that Lou found out about me along with everyone else, but she says that she understands.
The story hits the nationals, and the local paper runs pieces every day, quoting various sources. I recognise some names, including Nina’s and Michelle’s, but then the headmaster sends home a letter forbidding anyone else from talking to the press.
Towards the end of the week, there’s a story about Tom which makes me freak out even more. There are no direct quotes from him, of course, but I hate that he’s being dragged into it all. I hope his mum isn’t too angry.
‘She’s not,’ he tries to reassure me when we speak on Friday night. ‘Honestly, Jessie, it doesn’t matter. They’ll get bored soon and will leave us alone.’
‘What do you mean? They’re not harassing you, are they?’
‘There’s at least one man waiting outside the driveway, but it’s fine,’ he says.
‘What?!’ I had no idea anyone was ‘doorstepping’ him. That’s the technical term, apparently.
‘It’s fine.’ He laughs. ‘He’s just a fat nacker with nothing better to do. And I think Mum might find it all quite exciting, if I’m being honest.’
I sigh and he chuckles quietly.
‘What are you up to tomorrow?’ he asks.
‘Nothing,’ I reply miserably.
‘Want some company?’
‘Are you kidding?’ I respond excitedly. ‘Will your mum let you come over?’
‘She reckons it can’t hurt, now that the press know about me.’
She had wanted him to keep his distance, earlier on in the week.
‘Oh my God, that would make me so happy!’ I exclaim. ‘I feel like I’m going insane here.’
The next day can’t come soon enough, and my heart jumps when I see Caroline’s car pull up at the gate. I almost fall flat on my face in my eagerness to get downstairs, throwing the door open before Tom can even press the doorbell.
‘Hey!’ he says with a laugh, as I practically knock him over.
‘Hello!’ Stu chirps, coming out into the hall to join us.
I break away from Tom to say hello to Caroline, and Stu offers her a cup of tea that she doesn’t refuse. Her eyes dart around the hall as she follows us in, and it strikes me that being in Johnny’s house must feel very surreal to her. Tom, too, no doubt.
‘I’m just going to show Tom around,’ I call after Stu and Caroline, as they go into the kitchen. I’m desperate to get him alone.
We hurry into the first door off the corridor, which happens to be the living room, and shut it behind us. He doesn’t waste time kissing me.
I sigh against his lips, then press my face into his neck. He wraps his arms round me and we stand there for a long time. He makes me feel so safe.
Voices in the hall break us apart and the door opens, Stu leading Caroline in, both of them cradling mugs of tea.
‘Whoops,’ Stu says, seeing us.
‘So this is the living room,’ I blurt, flashing Stu and Caroline a cheeky grin, before taking Tom’s hand and pulling him out of the room. Caroline smiles after us as we go.
‘I can’t believe we’re standing in Johnny Jefferson’s house,’ To m says eventually, after we’ve been – and kissed – in every room. It became a bit of a joke after a while: darting inside, kissing quickly, then darting out again. I’ve left my room until last. I’m in the Orange Room again. I love it, but I know it will never feel like my own, even with two suitcases’ worth of belongings in the wardrobes.
‘It’s weird, isn’t it?’ I agree. ‘It still feels surreal to me, too.’
‘I bet.’ He flashes me a sympathetic smile. ‘Have you found out any more about who spilt the beans?’
‘No,’ I admit. ‘I don’t know if I ever will.’
‘Tom!’ Caroline’s voice comes up the stairs.
I follow him back out onto the landing.
‘I’m off,’ she calls up to us with a warm smile. ‘I’ll come back for you tonight, OK?’
‘OK.’ He nods.
‘Bye!’ I call down to her.
‘Be good,’ she says, giving him a meaningful look, and then Stu appears behind her and I see the back of Tom’s neck flush.
‘Mum!’ he mutters with annoyance and embarrassment, but she just smiles and turns to Stu. Tom flashes me an awkward look and then we both go back downstairs. Clearly my bedroom is off limits.
We have a lovely day together, and I almost forget what’s been happening outside the walls of the Jeffersons’ mansion. I even hunt out the photos of Johnny’s mum and that prompts me to show Tom the pictures of Mum I brought with me. Stu, for the most part, leaves us alone. But I’m all too aware of the clock ticking down to the time that Tom’s mum will come to collect him. I think Stu senses my unease because he doesn’t even so much as raise an eyebrow when we both turn down dessert after dinner and go upstairs to my room. I guess he’s indulging my need for privacy. I’m not going to get much of that any more.
Inside my room, Tom takes my hands, but I’m the one to pull him onto the bed. We kiss slowly, languidly, exploring each other’s mouths with our tongues. He shifts to lie on top of me and I feel light-headed at the sensation of being under the weight of his solid, fit body. He props himself up on his forearms and breaks away, but I don’t want him to stop kissing me. I slide my hands up inside his T-shirt and he breathes in sharply as my fingers trace the definition of his abs. When he kisses me again, it’s with a passion that I haven’t felt before. I kiss him back, just as heatedly, and then he lets his weight settle back over me so his body is completely flush with mine. A dart of desire shoots through me, but, before I can react, he rolls onto his back and pulls me on top of him, holding me at arm’s length. He stares up at me, his eyes seeming even darker than usual.
‘Mum’s going to be here in a minute,’ he whispers.
‘I wish you could stay over,’ I comment, then blush when I realise how he might take that sentence. We’re not there yet.
I realise he’s watching me, studying my face. Self-consciously, I move off him so we’re lying side by side. He sighs and reaches out to stroke my hair away from my face. We stare at each other in silence for several moments, and then the doorbell rings.
‘Hmm,’ he says sadly.
‘Hmm,’ I disconsolately agree.
‘When do you think you’ll be allowed to come back to school?’ he asks.
‘Maybe Monday.’
‘Really?’ His eyes light up.
‘Apparently Johnny’s going to call me tonight with a plan.’
An hour later that’s exactly what Johnny does.
‘I’m sending Sam over,’ Johnny says. ‘He’ll be with you first thing in the morning.’
‘Sam?’ I ask with surprise. ‘As in Samuel?’ His American bodyguard?
‘I don’t trust anyone else as much as I trust him,’ Johnny states.
‘But Bruce seems nice.’ I don’t want to put poor Samuel out and make him fly over from the States.
‘Nice isn’t safe,’ Johnny snaps. ‘At least, not safe enough. I don’t know Bruce. If you’re going back to school, I want Sam to take you.’
‘Please don’t tell me he’s going to be following me around to my lessons,’ I say in a pleading voice.
‘He will at first—’
‘Johnny!’ I cry with dismay.
‘But you’ll get used to i
t.’
‘Oh, God, this is going to be mortifying!’
‘It’s just a short-term solution, Jess.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I ask sharply.
He doesn’t answer at first. ‘We’ll talk about it when all of this dies down.’
‘I’m not moving schools!’
‘Jess…’
‘I’m not!’
‘In that case, Sam is going to have to sit GCSEs in Maidenhead.’
‘Jesus, Johnny!’ I erupt.
‘What happened to Dad?’ he asks, his tone softening and his words tugging at my heartstrings.
‘There’s a lot I’m still getting used to,’ I say finally.
Chapter 14
True to his word, Samuel turns up on Sunday, and on Monday I return to school. Tom comes in early to meet me, earlier even than usual. It’s only seven in the morning, but Samuel wanted to beat rush hour.
Stu lets us hang out with him in the staffroom, which is a novelty, but, as the time passes, my nerves increase. I can see students wandering past outside the windows, completely oblivious to my presence. A small part of me still hopes that people will leave me alone.
No such luck, of course.
Even the teachers stare at me. It’s completely disconcerting, especially when Mr Hillman, the headmaster, makes a point of coming over to me to pass on his best wishes. Stu told me he feels somewhat responsible for the students that blabbed to the press.
Eventually Tom takes me by the hand to walk me to my tutor room, but we have to traipse through the busy courtyard to get there.
It’s the weirdest thing. I suddenly feel like the school has gone all The Matrix on me, with everything moving in slow motion. People turn to gape, mouths drop open, conversations are cut short – and then the whispering starts, the commenting, the pointing. Tom squeezes my hand and tugs me forward.
‘Haven’t you got anything better to do?’ he snaps suddenly at a group of especially rowdy Year Tens, making me jump. I didn’t have him down as the confrontational type. ‘She’s just a girl, get over it!’
A few metres later he bends down and murmurs in my ear: ‘You’re not just a girl, by the way. You’re my girl.’
The butterflies in my stomach carry me the rest of the way to my classroom. I’m relieved when I see Libby and Lou already seated.
‘Jessie!’ Lou cries, getting up.
Libby does the same, but Mrs Rakeman is already at the front of the class.
‘Settle down!’ she snaps, putting an end to the whispers and commotion.
I go to take a seat next to Lou, noticing a flicker of resentment cross Libby’s face as she glances at Lou and then at Amanda. Amanda also looks at me with an odd smile.
As soon as we’re released to go to our first lesson, my classmates are all over me.
‘I can’t believe it’s true!’ Nina cries. ‘It WAS you!’
‘We said you looked just like her!’ Michelle exclaims. ‘We bloody well knew it!’
‘Would you all leave Miss Pickerill alone!’ Mrs Rakeman has to shout over them to make her voice heard.
Lou and Libby usher me out of the room and I’m vaguely aware of Amanda hanging back. She’s probably jealous that Libby is paying me so much attention.
At break, we go to the library and Lou nips off to tell Chris and Tom where we are. It doesn’t take long for news to spread and the library is soon busier than it’s ever been. We huddle in the corner behind some bookshelves. Again, Amanda is noticeably absent. I’m pleased that Libby is here, though, and I’m thankful that Lou is, too. But, above all, I’m grateful for Tom.
I’m sitting closer to him than I ever have before at school – nestled between his legs, with his arms round my waist. I just want to be protected by him. I look around at all of my friends – Chris, Lou and Libby – and feel relatively at peace, despite everything.
And then I think of Natalie and begin to ponder how strange it is that I’ve barely heard from her since the news broke. Would she have…?
No. I don’t believe she was the one who ratted me out to the press. I know Stu doesn’t like or trust her, and Libby never has, either, but she wouldn’t do that to me. So why has she been so quiet? I know we’ve grown apart a little, but surely not that much?
I call her that night and her phone goes straight through to voicemail. My unease increases.
The next morning, I’m in the sixth-form common room with Tom, with the consent of the headteacher. Libby finds me there, and I’m touched that she made the effort to come in early to check on me, so I kiss Tom goodbye, and Libby and I head to the library to hang out.
The courtyard is pretty empty – it’s still only eight thirty – but the few students who are there watch me as I pass.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being stared at, and this is just at my school. What’s it going to be like when I go out in public? Especially with Johnny and Meg…
Thankfully, Samuel isn’t following me around the school grounds, but I know he’s outside the gates, and every so often I spy him doing a circuit of the perimeter. I haven’t forgotten that Johnny said I could be a kidnap risk once the news got out, but honestly I think he’s being over the top.
My story hasn’t been in the national papers for days and, once everyone gets used to the sight of me at school, I can’t believe that Samuel will be necessary. It seems crazy that I can’t go home.
I figure that if enough time passes – maybe a week or so – Johnny will realise he’s overreacting and will let me go about my business without a bodyguard watching over my every move. I just have to keep my head down.
It takes me a while to notice because I’m too consumed with everything else, but, by that afternoon, I realise that Amanda and Libby are barely talking to each other. Between Maths and English, I pull Libby aside and ask her about it.
‘What’s up with you and Amanda? Have you fallen out?’
‘No,’ she replies. ‘I just haven’t seen that much of her lately.’
‘Why not? I thought you were BFFs.’
She snorts slightly. ‘No.’
‘Really?’ I frown at her.
‘She’s grating on me a bit,’ she eventually admits, and I stifle a giggle.
She laughs and hooks her arm through mine and we walk the rest of the way to English together.
Chapter 15
I try calling Natalie again that night, but, once more, her phone goes straight through to voicemail. I sit in Johnny’s study and chew my bottom lip thoughtfully. Her lack of contact is definitely worrying.
My nerves eat away at me and, by Thursday, I can stand it no longer. On the way home from school, I direct Samuel to take me to Henley College.
‘I can’t let you go in there without me, miss.’
‘Call me Jessie, Samuel! How many times do I have to tell you?’ I can’t help snapping.
‘OK, Jessie, but I still can’t let you go in alone.’
‘Let’s just wait here for a bit. We’ll see if she comes out.’
‘Cool,’ he rumbles, in his trademark deep voice.
Stu is working late tonight. Apparently he’s not a kidnap risk.
It’s alright for some.
‘Heard any good jokes recently?’ I ask Samuel after ten minutes of bored silence.
‘Not lately,’ he replies.
He seems to have left his sense of humour in LA.
I sigh heavily and stare at the double doors of Henley College.
‘I cleaned the attic with my wife the other day,’ Samuel says suddenly. I look at him with interest. I didn’t think he was married. ‘Now I can’t get the cobwebs out of her hair,’ he continues.
I stare at him with confusion for a moment before bursting into laughter.
‘I’m glad I made you smile, girl.’
‘Jessie,’ I correct him.
‘Then you should call me Sam,’ he replies.
‘I thought only Johnny called you Sam?’
‘True, true.�
�� He pauses. ‘You remind me of him, you know.’ I smile as I look out of the window again, and then I see her. Natalie.
‘There she is!’ I exclaim, pulling on the door handle. I tug and tug, but it won’t open. ‘Sam!’
‘Hang on, I’m comin’,’ he grumbles, climbing out of the car.
What, now I can’t even open my own door?
He opens it and I stumble onto the pavement. ‘Natalie!’ I shout.
Her head whips round and she stares at me and then at Sam, her face freezing in shock.
Em, our other friend from college who’s much closer to Natalie than to me, comes out of the door behind her and clocks me almost immediately. ‘Oh my God!’ I can’t hear her from this distance, but I can read her lips. She comes hurrying towards me in her high-heel boots and I’m aware that several other students have stopped to stare. I guess I must look pretty conspicuous, even if people don’t know I’m Johnny’s daughter. Here I am, standing in front of a black Mercedes with a bodyguard in tow who’s about ten times the size of me. I watch warily as Natalie follows her.
My heart is pounding as I wonder whether Nat sold me out to the press. The look on her face when she saw me… I don’t know what to do. Do I confront her? Here and now?
‘Oh my God!’ I hear Em cry again, as she approaches. ‘I heard the news!’
Em throws her arms round me and glances with slight trepidation over my right shoulder to where Samuel is standing. ‘Who’s that?’ she whispers. She looks more orange than usual. She’s clearly been overdosing on fake tan.
‘This is Sam, my, er, bodyguard,’ I mumble.
Em’s grin looks like it’s going to split her face in two. ‘Flipping hell!’ she cries. ‘I can’t believe it!’
‘Shall we go somewhere more private?’ Natalie mutters, looking around.
‘I think that would be a good idea,’ Sam interjects, standing back and ushering us into the car. ‘Is there anywhere you ladies would like to go?’ he asks when we’re safely ensconced in the back seat.
‘Maybe back to ours?’ I suggest. Sam’s living at Johnny’s, too.
‘We’re supposed to be meeting Aaron and Dougie at the pub,’ Natalie reminds Em.